On 7 October 2025, the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern (Germany) hosted the 50th edition of its discussion series “Talk among Friends” — this time under the guiding question “Can culture heal?”. In the theatre lounge, cultural and health professionals explored the forward-looking concept of Healing Culture: from “culture on prescription” to the psychosocial effects of cultural participation and the practical challenges involved in implementing such approaches.
Alongside representatives from municipal cultural work, medicine and regional institutions, Jana Eckert (ISIS Institut für Soziale Infrastruktur) contributed insights from practical project work. She not only presented experiences from the field of Culture on Prescription, but also introduced the Erasmus+ project Memorable, which is dedicated to supporting cultural participation among people living with dementia. In doing so, she highlighted how European cooperation projects can strengthen Healing Culture approaches on a broader level.
For Jana Eckert, the evening offered a valuable impetus: it demonstrated how cultural participation, creative encounters and regional collaboration can contribute to wellbeing and social cohesion. The discussion emphasised that projects like Memorable play an important role in making Healing Culture tangible and in promoting sustainable cultural engagement.
